Syed Jamil Ahmed, the director general (DG) of Shilpakala Academy, has explained the decision to stop a play midway was made to ensure the "safety of the audience", reports bdnews24.com.
Given the circumstances, he feared the academy itself would become 'target' of an attack.
Jamil outlined his hope for creating a "people-friendly Shilpakala Academy" built on genuine public support, rather than relying on the protection of law enforcement agencies.
A group of protesters forced the organisers to abruptly halt the performance of "Nityopuran" by theatre troupe Desh Natak halfway through its staging at the National Theatre Hall of Shilpakala Academy on Saturday.
The incident sparked heavy criticism of the academy on social media.
On Sunday, Jamil addressed the reasons for halting the show and the circumstances surrounding the decision in a virtual briefing.
"Recently, 22 branches of Shilpakala Academy across the country were attacked. That weighed on my mind. With the audience inside the hall, I thought, what if the protesters attack them? Considering the safety and security of the audience, we decided to halt the show midway. I went inside and apologised to the audience."
Witnesses said Desh Natak's scheduled production of Nityopuran drew ticket buyers from the afternoon. However, around 6pm, a group of people started protesting at the Shilpakala gates, labelling Desh Natak's Ehshanul Aziz Babu as "an accomplice of the Awami League".
After Shilpakala DG Jamil attempted to calm the protesters, the play began. However, the protesters gathered again outside the theatre hall and continued demonstrating.
As they tried to break into the hall, the DG spoke with Desh Natak members, ultimately deciding to cancel the show.
Masum Reza, the director and playwright of Nityopuran, told the news agency: "We wanted to perform theatre. But political forces have invaded our space, forcing us to cancel the play. We had to leave it unfinished."
He continued, "Jamil Bhai made every effort to ensure we could finish the show. But we had to stop midway; it's truly unfortunate."
"on Saturday, I fought a battle. I did everything I could to continue the show, but we lost that battle. However, I haven't lost the war," said Jamil.
He attached an edited photo depicting the advisors of the interim government wearing Jinnah caps, labelling them as 'Razakars'.
The post sparked protests, leading to the disruption of the play, according to Jamil.
"The (Facebook) post was in poor taste. I told Babu as much. I told all of them not to make such posts on Facebook, but instead criticise the government through their plays," he added.
